The Battle at Cumberland Avenue Scavenger Hunt earlier this month was fun and festive, and it drew out the creative and competitive natures of the 45 photo-snapping teams.

For three teams, the contest was also lucrative. For their hustle and imagination, the first-place team was rewarded with prizes worth a total of $2,500, while second- and third-place teams netted $1,500 and $1,000 in prizes.

For the Cumberland Avenue merchants, the digital scavenver hunt generated excitement and buzz on The Strip. In fact, the Cumberland Avenue Merchants Association (CAMA) has decided to make it an annual event.

"The four-day Battle at Cumberland Avenue was everything we hoped it would be - an energizing lead-up to the Sept. 10 Vols win at the Battle at Bristol," says Jonah Riggs, general manager of Copper Cellar Cumberland and CAMA president. "We thought it was important to provide Knoxville's fans with a unique opportunity to get creative and enjoy their favorite Cumberland restaurants and businesses with such a big game on the road."

Added CAMA Treasurer Helen Morton, owner of University Liquors: "We got a big kick out of Battle at Cumberland. It was a lot of fun for us to see all the performance art and great images photographed by the scavenger hunt teams."

Sponsors also included Merle 96.7, Regions Bank, CAMA and the City of Knoxville.

Thirty merchants contributed prizes for the contest winners, including bicycles from Regions Bank, room packages at the Hilton Garden Inn, cabin stays in the Smokies, a $500 gift card for vehicle servicing at Jim Cogdill Dodge Chrysler Jeep Ram, tailgating equipment from Cherokee Distributing, and gift certificates from a number of Cumberland restaurants, including the Sunspot and Copper Cellar.

So if you didn't form a team and compete, wait til next year - CAMA will host a different themed scavenger hunt in fall 2017. That's also the target date for completion of the City of Knoxville's $17 million reconstruction of Cumberland Avenue.

In recent weeks, decorative brick sidewalks and street lights have been installed on the north side of Cumberland, giving everyday stakeholders as well as Vol fans attending home games a good idea of what the finished streetscape project will look like a year from now.